Strange Feelings and Stranger Fates
by MoonlightWriter101
Summary: Kagome has always had feelings for Inuyasha, but his heart has always belonged to Kikyou. Sesshoumaru has learned to empathize and be merciful of humans only by Rin's efforts, but has never known how to love. Maybe their paths were meant to coincide afterall. SessxKag. Slow-burn. R&R!
1. Don't Let Me Down

" _Kagome!"_

She could hear his voice amid the annoying insectual _clicking_ and cackling of the large, black eight-legged creatures. Her frantic blue eyes searched for him, attempting to adjust to the absence of light that had befallen the sky, a darkness that engulfed even the most radiant of stars. The shrouding shadows cast by the towersome trees she was weaving around did little to help her in locating the one she was _supposed to be_ protecting. Instead, she found herself running from those nasty _tsuchigumo_ who had ambushed their dainty little camp - _tsuchigumo_ who had been quick to trap Sango, Miroku, and Shippo in layers and threads of shooting webs, each now glued to neighbouring trees. The only good thing about the current situation was that the young girl had been able to lead the spider youkai away from her friends on account of having "delicious spiritual energy and blood" to feed off of, but the luck of the situation was only temporary at best. If she didn't find her hanyou friend soon, they would _all_ end up being spider food.

"Inuyasha?" she shouted, trying her best not to stumble in her slender-legged escape and show the monster exactly what was under the skirt of her school uniform. She only carried a bow in her hand and a couple of arrows in the quiver upon her back. She glanced back at the giant spider youkai who scrambled after her with a malicious, hungry smile, followed by several smaller spider youkai. _If only I could stop long enough to aim…_

"It is useless to run, little girl! I will catch you, and my brethren and I will _eat_ you from the inside out!" screeched the leader, fangs protruding and dripping with anticipation. His followers cackled and screeched in excitement of the proclamation.

She could feel their thirsty apprehension of drawing nearer to their prey, their twisted enjoyment of the chase. Her features became more worried, her sapphires searching once more for the human hanyou. He had to be around here _somewhere_ , right? She had to be quick, or-

Her foot caught beneath a heavy root, and then the ground was swept from under. Her palms reached out, saving her from landing face first, but not before scraping the flesh off her right knee. She winced and turned to look at the sharp sting of pain that came after and the thin trail of crimson that began trickling down her leg.

It was the arachnid's laughter that tore her away from her cut, his foaming mouth and wide, insidious eyes that could wait no longer.

"YOU'RE MINE!" he bellowed, lunging for her.

Her eyes widened.

The black-haired man immediately jumped out of hiding, anger prominent in his features as he charged toward the spider youkai with all of his human might. "I don't think so!" He unsheathed his Tessaiga, its shape temporarily stuck in its _katana_ form, and impaled the spider youkai in its side.

While the pierced _ōgumo_ had not actually been wounded by the sword, it had served its purpose in directing the youkai's attention away from the black-haired girl… but, now said attention was on a _weak and defenseless_ Inuyasha, who, idiotically but bravely stood in a battle stance, ready to fight regardless of his condition.

"You meddling mortal! Aaaffteerr hiiimm!" commanded the _ōgumo_ , and, sure enough, the weaker, but more abundant _tsuchigumo_ crawled menacingly fast towards the human hanyou, beginning to spray him with all sorts of webbage, and entrapping him, along with his sword, inside layers of web.

The young miko knew she had to act fast if she wanted to keep the person most dear to her from being cocooned into spider fodder, so she reached for the trusted red bow she had dropped in her stupid, clumsy fall, and readied it to support an arrow she snatched from her quiver a second later. Her sapphires narrowed, taking aim at the small arachnids as she pulled the arrow back and poured all of her _reiryoku_ into it. _Pierce 'Em._

The shaft soared through the air in a pink, purifying brilliance, only to pierce the hoard of _tsuchigumo_ in a swift line of light and shatter them all into particles. She couldn't help but smile at herself, seeing as she had actually destroyed all of those nasty spider youkai and saved the inu hanyou all by herself. Her pride was only momentary, though, and her smile was short-lived, replaced by a look of shock as she realised that, while she had saved Inuyasha from the small arachnids, she had not freed him from the white threads that he was now entrapped in, glued to a tree just like the rest of her friends. "Hold on, Inuyasha! I'm coming!"

That's when she saw his golden eyes flash with a fear she had rarely ever seen. "Kagome! Look out!"

She rose to her feet, and she could sense something was behind her, but before she could turn around, a sudden, sharp, protruding pain sank deep into the side of neck.

Her eyes widened, and she could feel some type of shock come over her. All her limbs began to tingle, and her eyesight blurred. _What… What was happening?_

She felt herself fall -this time, because of something outside of her control, and she heard the clatter of her arrows and bow hit the cold, solid ground at the same time as she did. Her mind began to feel fuzzy, possibly protecting itself from the deep fire surging through her, and her breaths became something steady and shallow. The voice calling her name become fainter and fainter with each passing second, and she could no longer keep her eyelids open, no longer try to battle the fatigue that had claimed her.

Her body became numb.

She could feel herself start to fade away from whatever she had just been experiencing, becoming farther and farther from this world. From both worlds. From the people she cared about…. was she dying?

She wasn't sure.

But, she was starting to feel warm, a warmth she welcomed after lying on the bitter soil floor.

* * *

 _tsuchigumo -_ spider youkai

 _ōgumo -_ giant spider youkai

 _reiryoku_ \- spiritual power

hanyou - half-demon

youkai - demon

miko - priestess


	2. Beckoning Of The Wind

_The tall and powerful man's graceful stride suddenly came to a halt upon the dimly lit dirt path._

"What is it, Lord Sesshomaru?" the orphan girl wondered, looking up at him with big, curious brown eyes as her barefooted skipping came to a stop.

The silver-haired daiyoukai turned a certain direction, his interest piqued. He smelt blood… and not just _any blood._ It was a scent he recognised... Lavender, with a hint of hazelnut. "That girl…" That girl who travelled with his insolent half-brother… _it was her blood._ Had that ignorant hanyou failed to protect her?

"Do you sense something, My Lord?" the imp asked inquisitively, also trying to understand his master's motives. He stared at him, trying to decipher exactly what his almighty senses were picking up on.

A night breeze coursed through his long silver strands and swayed the dark grasses of the plains around them, carrying with it the foul stench of death… mortality…. and youkai. The Western Lord's eyes narrowed as he surmised the situation presented, a situation he would have been happy to ignore had it not been for the state that his own ridiculous nuisance of a brother seemed to be in.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin tried again, her face one of worry. Was he okay? Why wasn't he replying to her and Master Jaken's questions?

"Rin, stay here." He ordered stonily as he turned in the direction that the aromas had derived from. Then, as Jaken began to follow him, the inu daiyoukai barked another command. "Jaken, look after Rin." It was better that the innocent human girl was protected to spare him another swing of the Tenseiga; Jaken, although a fairly weak youkai, could take care of both of them by himself.

"My Lord, wait!" the little green servant cried, trying his best to run after the daiyoukai, but the plead was not met with a reply, fore the Killing Perfection had already taken the form of a brilliant orb and soared off into the blackness of the sky.

\- x -

" _What did you do to her, you bastard?!"_

His voice echoed across the wood, demanding an answer. The reincarnation of his late lover and best friend had just been bitten by a giant spider youkai on a night of the new moon, leaving the hanyou black-haired and powerless to stop it, and leaving Kagome motionless on the ground beneath, only ten feet away.

The _ōgumo_ merely laughed, as if his actions had been the most amusing thing in the world. "I injected my venom into her, of course! How else was I supposed to get her to stay still?"

 _Venom?_ A flash of terror ran across his features, then he grit his teeth in absolute anger. "Damn you!" He fought against the webs he had become entangled in, trying his best to rip them to shreds. Wishing, _praying,_ the damn sun would come up already so he could destroy that monster. So that he could get to Kagome. So he could save her! When he got his hands on that _ōgumo,_ that insect would be happy to see his maker! "You are in for a RUDE AWAKENING! You hear me?!"

"Don't waste your breath and energy, mortal," the giant spider spat eerily with glee, "The girl is dying as we speak. I think she'll make a lovely meal, don't you agree?" The spider youkai used the tip of his leg to caress the modern girl's cheek as he hovered over her, his salivating mouth and starving eyes contemplative in merely eating her right that second.

Inuyasha, of course, continued to put all of his human strength and _ningen_ heart into ripping himself out of that damn web cocoon. "You're DISGUSTING, you know that? DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!"

"I like you, human," the red-eyed monster replied, crawling over to the tree-trapped hanyou and leveling his gaze. "Maybe I should save the girl for later… and EAT YOU INSTEAD!" The huge arachnid smiled wickedly, and flashed its large fangs.

Inuyasha turned his head against the bark of the trunk and prepared himself for a move that threatened his life. For venom. For pain. For death.

But, it never came.

Instead, the _hikari no muchi_ sliced through the _ōgumo,_ and the forefingers the whip had belonged to was none other than the heir to the Tenseiga. His white boots landed swiftly upon one of the large roots extending above the surface of the earth, and he recoiled his light lash just as easily as he had cast it. The man's face showed no emotion towards the giant spider as it screamed in agony and staggered backward from the burning impact of the attack, then seethed a terrible glare toward the Western Lord.

Surprise and slight relief flooded the hanyou's features upon being saved by his elder brother. But, of course, such emotions were quick to disappear upon the white daiyoukai's subsequent condescension.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, half-brother, to let _a mere_ _ōgumo_ overcome you. Father would be disappointed."

Naturally, the hanyou grimaced and retorted an aggressive reply. "Why you…! If I wasn't in this stupid spider trap, I'd KILL you, Sesshoumaru!"

The daiyoukai's lips rose at the slightest of corners into a small smirk. "I'd like to see you try."

The spider demon seemed to compose himself at that moment, standing on all eight legs, and then lunged toward Sesshomaru with a vengeance. "YOU'LL PAY FOR DISRUPTING MY DINNER!"

It took no effort for Sesshoumaru to crack his claw and ready his position for a perfect poisonous strike, leaping forward at the exact same second toward the inferior creature. _"Dokkasō."_ His acidic claws tore through the youkai and the green poison disintegrated the monster into nothing more than dust. Fortunately for the black-haired hanyou, the green vapors also melted away Inuyasha's current predicament, deteriorating the _tsuchigumo's_ silky threads that had held him hostage for what seemed like an eternity.

Despite his earlier threat, the man's dark, human irises immediately fell on Kagome once he was free, who still lie on the ground, and he ran over to her in a haste of worry. He immediately turned her body to face him and took her in his arms. "Kagome? Can you hear me?" The Western Lord observed from a few feet away as his younger brother placed his human head over the young miko's heart, trying to locate the softest of beats, the faintest of breaths. Trying to hold onto some glimmer of hope as he held her cold body.

But, the harsh reality of the situation was that the woman in strange clothes had just died only a couple moments before. The venom had entered her body quite quickly, the elder youkai surmised, because of the open cut upon her knee. Her death had not been insufferable, however, with only a sharp pain, possibly followed by some type of delusion. Still. _Such a dishonorable way to leave this world._

Inuyasha clung to the soulless corpse of his best friend as he came to the despondent realisation that she was no longer among the living, clenching his teeth and snarling at the world as tears stung the rims of his eyes. He held her close to him. "I'm so sorry, Kagome. This is all my fault… if only I hadn't been so stupid! I wasn't able to protect you! Please forgive me…please..."

"Hmph." The killing perfection looked on at the scene a second longer before turning around to walk away, seeing as it seemed that there was no longer any reason for him to stay. What he had come to do had been done, and now it was time for him to take his leave from the insolent half-youkai and that lifeless girl.

"Sesshoumaru, wait."

As he began to put distance between himself and the two mortals, he was interrupted by the one he was so unfortunate to share DNA with, and stopped upon request. It was only out of curiosity and sheer blood-kin that he dared to listen to the words that came next.

Through a tear-wrenched voice, he could detect his brother's wounded pride, and an emotion akin to desperation. "You can bring her back," He managed, almost as if he was just realising it himself. "With your sword. You can bring Kagome back, can't you?"

The Western Lord, who, not by any stretch of the imagination, ever held any type of sentient, for a moment, actually _considered_ the hanyou's request with a logical lackluster. His ignorant half-brother was correct in his statement but, for what purpose did he need to resurrect that strange girl? She was not his companion, nor did she seem very beneficial to him.

Inuyasha hung his head, knowing that he was putting himself on the line. This was the only option. The only way he could get her back. "I know you hate my guts, and that you think humans are worthless, " He continued upon his elder brother's silence, "But, Kagome is not just any human… not to me. She means a lot to me… and, without her, I-" He forced the tears down his cheeks again and gulped down his pride, finding it hard to be so vulnerable in front of the daiyoukai. To admit so much. "I'm nothing." Then again, so much was at sake.

Sesshoumaru slid a glance toward the hanyou as he listened to his half-brother begging him to bring his friend back to life, and decided that he had heard enough. He could no longer stand to see his brother so pitiful, so weak, so _useless_. One would have thought that the vision of the daiyoukai's half-human kin groveling at his feet would be a long awaited sight, and perhaps even something to be pleasantly expected. However, seeing the state that his brother was currently in at this very moment was absolutely repulsive, to say the least. Such a sight utterly disgusted the Western Lord, and if reviving _that girl_ would put an end to such a pathetic eyesore, then so be it.

"Very Well." He finally agreed, much to Inuyasha's probable surprise. The white-haired lord inwardly sighed as he turned around and approached the reincarnated miko and his despicable half-brother. His hand took to his sword, the Tenseiga, almost as if such an act was second nature, and it pulsed apprehensively in his grasp. "Stand back." His command was directed to the hanyou, who, after gentlely setting the girl back down onto the ground, compliantly jumped back with a bewildered expression. The daiyoukai's golden eyes narrowed, focusing on only one thing and one thing alone - the border between this world and the next.

Within seconds, he could see and sense the small grey guardians of the afterlife, already scrimmaging around her body, and placing spiritual chains on her wrists and ankles as they prepared for her transport into the Underworld. He unsheathed the heavenly blade and, in one elegant swing, disintegrated the messengers into nothingness, bringing color back to the young miko's rosy cheeks. After a moment, The Killing Perfection could even hear her heart restart its rhythm, beginning to beat again, and a once lost breath return to her lungs.

The hanyou's eyes bulged, hardly believing what he was seeing. Sure, he had seen Sesshoumaru resurrect people before, but to watch him do so because he seemed to actually give a shit about something other than himself…. To actually resurrect someone he _knew…_ because Inuyasha had _asked him to_. it was something Inuyasha would have never been ready to accept, just as he was not able to do so now.

It was then that hues of coral and champagne began to ascend the sky, bringing with it the red-orange flame of the morning sun as its rays peaked over the horizon, and through the trees.

Kagome's baby blues fluttered open to see a beautiful white god hovering above her, with markings of magenta upon his cheeks and a mauve crescent symbol adorning the centre of his forehead. His power was amazing, and she could feel its intensity and security. The sun's light bathed him in gold, and she was glad to be met by such a handsome being. That is, until she realised… she wasn't in heaven.

Once her eyes adjusted and her senses came back to her fully, she realised that the 'god' who had been standing above her was… "Sesshoumaru?!" Suddenly, she could feel her face turn twenty shades of red. _Wh-What?_ Why was _he_ here? Why had he been standing over her?! And, where was Inuyasha?!

She sat up to regain her bearings, to study her surroundings. They were still in the forest… the same forest they had been in with those spider youkai.

The young miko was, then, interrupted when the white-haired and dog-eared hanyou, who had recently transformed back to normal during the sunrise, crouched down and suddenly pulled her into a tight and unexpected hug. "Thank _kami,_ I thought I lost you."

This action, of course, especially in front of the daiyoukai, caused her face to turn an even darker shade of crimson. "Inuyasha?!" What was he doing? "What are you talking about? I'm right here!" She glanced up at the white lord, who continued to tower over them in what seemed to be the scrutiny of a studious observation. What in _the world_ was going on?

 _How strange,_ the Western Lord thought as he peered at the two before him and slid his sword back into its sheath. His tenseiga never ceased to amaze him, and of course, the… relationship…. between his half-brother and that girl was also a concept of interest. Why would one ever throw aside his pride for a woman? Inuyasha and his… love… for the young girl in front of him and, even still, the feelings his brother held for the undead miko continued to remain a mystery to the stoic man in white.

However, he had witnessed all he could stand of the scene in front of him; it was something he did not particularly care for. He had done his part, and his purpose for being in the company of those two was no longer intact. Yet, as he turned his back for the second time to make his final exit, he somehow knew that this was only the beginning of another beckoning, one of a higher power. Higher than even the almighty Lord Sesshoumaru.

* * *

daiyoukai - full or powerful demon

 _ningen_ \- human

 _kami_ \- God

Author's Note: Sorry for not saying anything last chapter; I wanted the chapter to stand alone for full effect! :) I hope everyone has enjoyed what they have read so far - I wanted it to start off differently than most SessKag fanfics, and will continue to aim for something original and believable. Feel free to review, since this is my first Inuyasha fanfiction as well as my first attempt at successfully writing a crack pairing. I look forward to seeing critiques, praise, and reactions! Thank you for reading, and I will try to update as soon as possible.


	3. Something to Protect

_The young miko sat beside the youkai taijira, holding a bento in her lap with one hand and balancing chopsticks with the other._

Shippou sat across from Kagome, and Miroku positioned himself nearest to the kitsune across from Sango. The flames flashed shadows upon the _inu-tachi's_ features as they accommodated themselves around the interior fire of Kaede's residence and each treated themselves to a decent meal. All of them... except for one.

The young miko snuck a glimpse at him out of the corner of her eye. Per usual, the youngest son of Inu No Taisho leaned cross-legged against the farthest wall, his tetusaiga resting diagonally between two folded arms. His golden irises seemed concentrated and serious, boring into the wooden floor with deep thought. He had barely spoken since what had happened earlier that day, and she had a feeling that it was because he blamed himself for what had went down.

"Inuyasha," Sango finally interjected with a caring tone, breaking the long silence between them. "Why don't you join us?" She couldn't keep ignoring that things hadn't been completely the same ever since they had returned from the Forest of No Return. The only interaction the hanyou had initiated with his comrades previously was using the _sankon tessō_ to free them of their webbed cocoons once he and Kagome had found them sometime after sunrise, and he then had insisted that they remain in Kaede's village for the remainder of the night. It was so unlike him - and if _she_ was bothered by the hanyou's sudden change in behaviour, she could only imagine how Kagome felt.

"She's right, Inuyasha," Miroku added in an attempt to convince him after plopping a dried vegetable into his mouth, "There is plenty of food to go around, thanks to Kagome and her convenient carry-on containers."

The black-haired girl felt a sweat-drop slide down the side of her head and a nervous grin steal her lips. "It's really all thanks to my mom..." She couldn't take _all the credit_ , seeing as Ms. Higurashi had prepared the home-made _bentos_ especially for her and her friends.

"Well, your mom is the best!" chimed Shippou happily as he chomped on the salmon of his fox-styled _kyraben_. Everything was just so yummy! Inuyasha was a fool not to try any.

"No, thanks." The hanyou finally dismissed, albeit begrudgingly. He was not in the mood to eat. Any other time, the dog-eared man would have been delighted to gobble up one of Kagome's strange meals from the modern era, and then maybe even take some of Shippou's. However, his mind was still on the earlier incident, and he couldn't bring himself to focus on much else.

Her sapphires became sad once her gaze fell on him and on his words. Turning down food must have meant something was seriously wrong. "Is everything okay, Inuyasha?" She asked the tentative question no one else would. She needed to hear the answer from him, even if she already knew what bothered him.

His golden eyes flickered toward her for a second before pulling them away in shame. Then, he abruptly stood up, knowing that he wouldn't be able to fully focus in the hut. _Especially_ with Kagome looking at him like that. "I need some air." And, with his announcement, he grabbed his tetusaiga and idly marched out the door.

The young miko hung her head. It was worse than she had originally thought.

Sango put down her chopsticks momentarily and placed a reassuring hand upon her best friend's shoulder. "It's okay, Kagome. He's just sensitive because of what happened."

"Yeah! Cheer up, Kagome!" sang Shippou, jumping up to perch upon her other shoulder. "He'll be back!"

She slid a side-glance toward the door the hanyou had just walked through, sensing a familiar presence somewhere nearby, and inwardly sighed. He definitely wouldn't be back anytime soon.

Miroku noticed her change in disposition, and he narrowed his eyes as he thought of the suspected reason for Inuyasha's moodiness. "Inuyasha just needs some time to adjust to the incident. He gave up a lot of the pride in asking Sesshoumaru to resurrect you."

"Yeah! And, he was _human_ when he begged for Sesshoumaru to bring you back." Shippou added, "He must feel bad because he couldn't do anything to prevent your death." The kitsune was thankful that Inuyasha hadn't been around to hear that, or else he would have gotten a pummeling to the head.

There was a moment of silence after, however, and the fox youkai wondered if he had said something wrong.

Then, the _youkai taijira_ turned to the young miko in thought of a new question, one that had probably been at the back of all of their minds, but not spoken until now. "But, I wonder…" she ventured, her brown eyes glinted by puzzle and suspicion-

"Why _did_ Sesshoumaru save you, Kagome?"

The chopsticks the young miko held, which currently balanced a lump of rice in their combined wooden grasps, paused in mid-air, and a contemplative expression replaced her former sadness. The question her brunette friend had asked also had been something she had wondered earlier after it had happened. The truth was that she wasn't entirely sure why herself, since she had been unconscious and… well, dead, by the time the Western Lord had appeared. But, according to Inuyasha, the daiyoukai had brought her back from the afterlife solely because the hanyou had asked him to, with little to no fuss. Somehow, the school girl found this particular part of the story hard to believe - most notably because Sesshomaru had _always_ despised humans and only did things because _he_ wanted to.

And… if that was the case, if the daiyoukai had actually _wanted to_ return her to the land of the living, she couldn't imagine what reason he would have had for doing so.

"I...I don't know," she finally answered. It was a mystery to everyone, except for the great daiyoukai himself.

\- x -

The dog-haired hanyou had hopped up in and settled into one of the large, cradling branches of the _goshinboku_ , legs crossed and arms folded just as he had been sitting before, with his back sharp against the bark of the trunk. His golden eyes, while seeming to stare into the dusk-filled skies, actually gazed into his own mind at the scenes from before. The images were clear and piercing, like elaborate paintings, and he could still feel the shame that weighed heavy in his heart. Again and again, he pictured that damn spider youkai sinking its fangs into her neck and her subsequent collapse. Again and again, he remembered how hollow and frail and cold her body had felt in his human hold, how he had been too _weak_ , _too vulnerable_ , to prevent it.

And, he was reminded of the time before, fifty years ago, when he had been too stupid, too weak, to prevent _her death, too._ Too powerless to save the chinese bellflower after swearing his love and allegiance to her, and allowing Naraku to deceive them both, to inflict the crimson wound that would lead to her demise, and to his half a century of sleep.

But, then, he met the lost, who had fallen into the Sengoku Jidai from another world entirely and freed him from his slumber, and with time, he had fallen into the idea that fate had given him a second chance. To bandage the past, to protect _her now_. He couldn't allow her to end up the same way. She was his redemption, his best friend, his…

The grip on his sword tightened. But, none of that mattered, because _he had failed her,_ and she _had_ died.

Tears threatened to siege his eyes again, but he held them back firmly. He couldn't just sit back and do nothing about what had happened. He had to get stronger. He had to be able to protect her better.

But, what was a hanyou to do?

While he was very grateful of his daiyoukai brother's former generosity, and content that Kagome was alive now, he did not want to have to depend on anyone, _especially_ not Sesshoumaru, if something like that were to happen again. But, on nights where he did not have the power possible to defend the one he cared for the most, he was opening Kagome up to a possible and permanent death. The next time, his elder brother might not be so generous in resurrecting his friend. Was there any way he could get rid of his human form without getting rid his humanity?

"Inuyasha... I can sense that you are up there," A strong, diligent voice carried from beneath his station, jostling him from his thoughts. The familiar scent of cinnamon and earth soil wafted through a slight breeze, and he was suddenly aware of the honeydew _shinidamachū_ swirling around him, as well as the powerful presence that always approached with them.

He looked down, and a surprised expression overtook his prior seriousness. "Kikyou…" He managed out amazement, "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the area and I sensed that you were here," Though, in all truth, she was lying. She had wanted- _no_ \- she had _needed_ to see him. To see how he was doing, if only for a moment. It was not solely an idle whim or a convenience in passing. It was not only her vengeance for Naraku that kept her animated, but, moreover, it was the thought and sight of Inuyasha that truly kept her alive.

She paused to further examine him and, even in her clay corpse, she could sense a strong disappointment radiate from his soul. "You seem bothered by something. What is the matter, Inuyasha?" Her words were gentle, genuine, hinted with honey. It was a tone she only acquired when with him, fore she felt no such compassion for much else.

He mulled over her question and looked away. His face fell, as he wasn't sure he could bring himself to tell his former lover about the current circumstance at hand, about briefly losing Kagome. He wanted to protect both of them. He… loved… both of them, but, now, it seemed that Kikyou had become the sudden reminder of his precedent failure as well as every other after. Still. "Kikyou… I…" It couldn't hurt to ask. "I-I was wondering…." He started, but couldn't quite get his words out the way he wanted to.

She snickered. Inuyasha, as he always was. Fumbling over words and being a fool in front of women. When would he ever learn? A smile spread across her lips at his flusteredness. It seemed she would have to get him on the ground. "Come down here and talk to me."

The white-haired hanyou hesitated for a moment, but then decided that there was no harm in jumping down to land beside his former lover. As he positioned his feet on the ground and mounted his tetusaiga at his hip, he felt his gaze wander away from hers again. _Dammit._ Why was it so hard?

"A-As I was saying," he began again, "do you…" He forced his amber orbs to meet her deep burgundy ones, and took a deep breath. "Do you… know of any way I can get rid of my human form?" He searched her face, her eyes. Her scent was stronger now, and he battled the urge to hold her in his arms. To take her hand in his. To kiss her. To be with her as they used to be. He needed to resist her, to resist his love for her… and he needed to do it for Kagome.

The undead woman blanked for a moment, an expression of complete astonishment wiping the smile she had been wearing straight off her features. For one of the very rare times in her life, she faltered. But, being the strong miko she was, the chinese bellflower quickly regained her composure and her reply, and narrowed her eyes to study him."Do you still intend to become a full youkai after all of this time?" What could that foolish half-youkai possibly be thinking? Surely, he knew such a goal would not fare well for him.

"No, that's not what I mean…" He explained, still trying to find the words for what he wanted to achieve, for what he wanted to clarify. "I only want to be a hanyou, without a full human or full youkai form." His face was serious.

No doubt, he meant every word of what he was saying. She stared into his eyes for a moment, his golden embers that were just so full of sincerity, of ambition, of hope. It was true that she did know of a way. Maybe two. But, both possibilities were slim, and it would have been easier for him to sell his soul to the devil. She contemplated telling him and pondered for a moment, her face also reflecting a certain tenacity. "And, if I were to tell you…" She offered, treading lightly. It took no effort to take his clawed hand into her own and take a step closer. "...for what reason would you want to be neither a _ningen_ nor a _youkai_ , Inuyasha?" She had to know why.

He noticed her hand in his almost immediately and, almost instinctively, he tightened his grip around hers. His gaze became one of adoration, of truth as he stared directly into her eyes. "Because I have something to protect."

* * *

 _youkai taijira -_ demon slayer or youma warrior

 _inu-tachi_ \- Inuyasha's group

 _bento_ \- a "convenient" take-out or home-packed cuisine meal

 _kyraben -_ a _bento_ made for children with contents arranged to look like cute animals or characters

 _goshinboku_ \- the tree of ages, the "sacred tree" that Inuyasha was sealed to fifty years ago

 _shinidamachū_ \- "dead soul insects", or Kikyou's soul collectors


	4. Lost and Found

" _Look, Lord Sesshoumaru! A chūrippu!"_

The young orphan ran up to the daiyoukai and offered him a yellow tulip she had found in the moonlit fields. Per usual, the human girl's black hair was in disarray, yet, somehow, her disposition and her short, checkered _kosode_ seemed cleaner, softer, than before. She stopped in front of her charge with the gentle gesture in hand, which, in turn, halted his step, and a bright grin enveloped her lips when he peered down at her.

He paused as his golden gaze fell onto her features, onto her bright face and kind eyes. _That smile…_ It was the same one that she had given him the very first time the two had met. And, yet, looking at that grin, at that exact expression now… he momentarily discerned a glimpse of another human girl, as Rin's current countenance somehow, strangely, reminded him of the young miko that he had resurrected only a day prior.

His eyes narrowed, intending to understand why an image of Inuyasha's female companion had flashed through his mind solely at the conveyance of Rin's features. He merely surmised that the two mortal girls were similar in visage as well as parallel in their nature of character, and it was this likeness that had brought on such semblance.

The Western Lord idly dismissed the matter, and curiously accepted the flaxen flower, despite Jaken's pratering and protest, and much to Rin's apparent glee.

He stashed the gift within his formal _shirikarage,_ and then the three of them continued on their wandering journey, following the breeze that fingered through silver and ebony locks.

The orphan girl's chocolate gaze remained on her charge as she skipped behind him, oblivious to stepping on Jaken's imp toes in the process, smiling from ear to ear. Lost in her own world, she hummed a tune that had been stashed away in her mind long ago - a tune that symbolised happiness. A tune that she hoped, one day, she'd be able to share with Lord Sesshoumaru.

\- x -

" _Because I have something to protect."_

Whether the half-youkai had been referring to her - the one who currently stood so close to him and held his hand in her own - or her reincarnation, who was, no doubt, sitting around waiting for Inuyasha someplace in Kaede's village, somewhat piqued her interest. It was no secret that the hanyou cherished both women equally, and the powerful priestess could not blame him, seeing as the two girls were but a mirror to one another. She stared at the young man before her curiously. So full of life, and so old, and yet… still so _naive_. She found herself wondering _what could possibly_ be going through his mind - how did he possibly hope to remain a hanyou all of his life, without the consequent new moon turning him human or without the occasional occurrence of youkai blood rampaging inside, just enough to keep him alive? Something must have happened to cause him to arrive at such a strange state of mind...

But then, it occurred to her. Her heart. It had been acting strange as of late, she remembered, thinking back to how it had been skipping in rhythm. Seeing as even the clay-created organ was connected to _her_ soul... to _Kagome_ … then, perhaps, that meant that something had happened to the miko's time-travelling doppelganger. The priestess was prepared to wager that such an incident had been terrible enough to warrant Inuyasha's sudden, unattainable goal and current insistent inquiry.

Her dark gaze then studied the half-youkai boy in suspicion. His eyes and posture seemed determined, returning her scrutiny with an unwavering golden glimmer and similar structure, and she dared to allude to the question that would answer all others. "I cannot help but wonder which one of us you are referring to." Her voice was soft silk, but it was interlaced with a sly smirk that danced in deviousness.

Inuyasha's earlier determination fell, replaced by a shocked expression, a twitch of an ear, and a flinch in his shoulders. How _in the hell_ could Kikyou ask such a thing?! "Uh..." He muttered, allowing his golden gaze to drift to the side while he attempted to come up with an answer. The truth was that he wanted to protect both of them, but he felt that saying so was not the best idea.

The chinese bellflower found that she inwardly cherished his uncertainty, simply because it meant that her greatest fear had not yet been realised. However, despite his honest reaction, she had to be sure. She had to hear him say the words… even if it meant breaking her soil-hearth heart.

She took the white-haired man into her arms, into a long-awaited, long-desired embrace, pressing her ear, and her cold unfeeling body close against his warm, beating heart, and firm, solid chest. A forlorn expression erased her former smirk, and she wore something akin to self-pity. "Surely," she soaked statement in a tinge of sadness, "You would not choose _that girl_ over me."

Such intimacy, of course, had the hanyou's heart pounding, and he was taken aback even further when Kikyou had insisted that his lack of response meant he had chosen Kagome.

 _Kikyou._ As much as he had tried to resist his earlier temptation, it seemed almost impossible to not hold her now. His expression softened into something gentle as compassion blazed within his golden embers and he wrapped his arms around her in return. It reminded him of better days, of a time earlier than the present. A time where he would do anything for the priestess. A time, in which, had come far before her modern day reincarnation. A time that still lingered in moments like these, even after the clock of their relationship had stopped ticking long ago.

Such words, such an accusation that he would care for one over the other, only served to wound the hanyou's heart. However, the mere thought of the chinese bellflower drowning in more sorrow was worse, and he tightened his grip to show her just how much he wanted… that he _needed_... her there. His words were barely above a whisper. "Never."

He leaned in to seal his promise with a kiss.

A kiss that only lasted for a moment, but felt like an eternity.

But, as soon as he heard a familiar gasp escape the lips of his modern-time travelling companion, his golden irises immediately flew open and he recoiled from the lip-lock to see Kagome standing in front of them with two, hurt blue moons staring upon the miko and the hanyou, looking at their close embrace with a horrified expression plastered upon her face.

"K-Kagome…" Was all that he could manage, seeing as the white-haired boy was at a loss for words. A pang of guilt stabbed into heart at that moment, as he knew that he had hurt her and that he had failed.

Kikyou stepped back from Inuyasha, only for her brown eyes to catch a glimpse of her reincarnation's departure, who had turned to run back towards the clearing from whence she had come. Some small part of the undead priestess felt pity for the girl, but one would think after so many times of stumbling upon the two, that girl would eventually understand that she was no match against the one she shared souls with.

"Kagome! Wait!"

But, even as she thought such things, her chocolate irises gravitated towards the hanyou, who had pulled away, whose face revealed the truth of his confliction, and he leapt away. As he left her side to follow after her reincarnation, she outstretched an arm towards him, wishing for him to stay. But, he was already gone, and his disappearance only served to prove that, perhaps, Kagome was in the lead afterall, and that... perhaps, the chinese bellflower was only a walking memory of what used to be.

\- x -

The young miko couldn't get the image out of her head, or the pain out of her heart. A mixture of anger and despair twisted around inside of her, and she couldn't control the tears that were beginning to gather around her eyes.

 _Don't cry,_ She told herself as she continued to run, _Don't you dare cry!_

But, her emotions were too strong. Her tears spilled like streams, and as she pushed herself towards the Bone Eater's Well, she could feel herself slowing down. Giving into the tears. The pain. She fell to her knees in front of the wooden passage, only a few feet away from the moonlit well.

She felt so s _tupid. How could she be so stupid?_ She had thought, that, maybe, Inuyasha had been dealing with the circumstances of her death from the day before, and that was why he had been acting weird. That, maybe, that was why he had walked out earlier. That, maybe, he blamed himself. Or, maybe, that he needed space.

That's what she had wanted to believe.

But, the truth was that he had been with _her_ all that time she had worried about him. When he had been gone too long and she couldn't go to sleep like the rest of the group because he had never come back. When she had went to look for him, thinking that an ally of that awful _tsuchigumo_ had gotten his revenge. Thinking that he had gone out and tried to do something horrible to himself or had went to do something stupid….

He had actually been with Kikyou.

She could feel her heart breaking into tiny shards that she didn't have the power to purify as brought her knees close to her chest and buried her face in her hands. Her sobs became softer, but the emotional wound behind her rib-cage was still deep.

Little did she know that the night was almost over, and the Lost would soon be found.

* * *

 _chūrippu_ \- a tulip; in this case, a yellow tulip.

 _shirikarage -_ "tucking up the hem of one's undergarments."the full-length kimono that Sesshoumaru wears.

Author's Note: Wow, I really didn't expect this chapter to take three-four months! I didn't expect my life to get so busy so quickly, but I do hope you enjoy what finally became complete. Let me know what you think, and stay tuned for the next one!


	5. Ties To The Wind

" _Kagome, wait!"_

The younger son of the Great Dog Demon had called after her, but it was no use. She was already fleeing, already out of his sight. The former affection and love he had held for his late lover immediately ceased upon seeing his best friend's crestfallen expression, and he couldn't shake the image of the undeniable pain that had dulled her baby blue eyes. Eyes that usually held such bounts of concern and admiration for him had so quickly been branded with betrayal and sadness and anger. It was a look he hadn't seen in a very long time. A look that was enough to suddenly soak him in guilt and regret for what she had seen- no, for _what he had done_.

On impulse, he leapt after her through the trees, following her scent, gritting his teeth and silently cursing himself. Berating himself. Hating himself. His intentions had been nothing but pure, but he could only imagine what she was thinking. He had been so busy worrying about how to protect her, worrying about himself, that he hadn't stopped to consider how _she_ was feeling. And, on top of it all, he had professed his unwavering loyalty to Kikyou, and even _kissed her,_ in front of Kagome.

 _How could he have been so stupid?_

His gallops through the darkened forest became faster upon the rise of his own infuriation.

At this rate, he would be lucky if she even said _sit_ to him.

\- x -

 _Lavender... with a scent of hazelnut._

That human had such an irresistible scent. His orange eyes narrowed in on its target, and the creature slipped its two-toned, pitch-forked tongue out just for a second, as its jade scales camouflaged with the bushes he lie wait in, concealed by the night's drapes and veils of many trees. His aura was almost undetectable in the moonlight, and he had feasted on many a human and youkai because of such advantages. It was only natural that he intended to do so again soon.

Seeing that the girl was all alone and nothing more than a mere mortal, he surmised that he would be the one to, quite literally, put her out of her misery.

He couldn't help the eerie smile that had slithered upon his crushed lips at the mere thought. He just had to wait a little longer, and then she would be wallowing in pity.

Afterall, they always tasted better when they were sad.

\- x -

 _She used the white of her sleeve to wipe off the dried tears that had long been streaming down her cheeks._

It was too bad she didn't have anything to wipe away the pain in her heart. She had been sobbing and crying for a long time. It was about time that she decided to stop feeling sorry for herself. At least, until she got to the other side of the well. It was obvious that Inuyasha wasn't coming after her, and that she didn't mean as much to him as she had originally thought.

She stood up, albeit wearily, trying to find the motivation and the courage to move from her melancholy-soiled position a few feet beside the well. Her chest ached from her previous display of despair, and she partially wondered if the nothingness that was forming inside her rib-cage was what her undead predecessor, Kikyou, often felt.

 _Kikyou._

Her sapphires looked up at the full moon hovering over. At the dimly lit stars that scattered around it. Tears threatened to consume her again, but she pushed them away. She couldn't help but wonder why her hanyou crush always chose the chinese bellflower over her, no matter how much the high schooler stood by his side and supported him. They looked almost exactly the same in the face, despite their apparent difference in breast size and body build. But, it wasn't like Kagome could help the body she had been born with, and it seemed shallow of Inuyasha if _that_ was the reason why he liked the _shibito_ more _._

Or, maybe, he liked the fact that she was a wise woman, a powerful priestess whose spiritual power could run circles around her own. It was no secret that Kikyou knew a lot about life and her own abilities, and probably would ace every exam thrown at her if she learned the information. Meanwhile, Kagome was struggling to even pass her classes, and knew little next to nothing about her own powers.

She heaved a heavy sigh. Whatever the case seemed to be, Kagome, even after _dying,_ would always come second in the hanyou's mind, and there seemed to be nothing that could be done to ever change that.

Sluggishly, she began walking toward the well, desperate to leave the time period that had caused her so much current grief. But, as soon as she placed one leg over one of the wooden arches, she heard the rustling of bushes, and a faint, familiar voice calling of her name.

That's when she sensed it. An aura coming towards her. Too quick to decipher whether it was good or bad.

She turned around to confront the presence but was only met with the _nezumi no kawagorom_ o and white dog ears running towards her. Her shoulders slouched and looked upon the hanyou with a forlorn expression and seething eyes. She much would rather had encountered an evil youkai than see _him_.

She turned back around to throw another leg over the arch, and position herself so she was sitting atop the edge, ready to fall into the well.

"Nope! You're not leaving me this time!" He told her, taking one last stride to position himself right behind her, and tug her arm towards him with brute force. He had gotten to her in time, and he wasn't going to let her get away so easily without letting her hear his explanation,

She merely snapped at him.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" The miko spat, trying to pull her arm back out of his grasp. "Let go of me!" If she wanted to leave, she should have been able to leave! This wasn't her _real_ home. Besides, the sooner she got to her own time, the sooner she could have a nice bath and forget all about the two-timing scoundrel trying to keep her around him.

But, he wasn't letting up.

"Like hell I will!" He pulled back harder. Why did she have to be so stubborn and strong?! "Just. Let. Me. _Explain_!"

"Let. Go. _Of Me_!" She demanded, winning the tug of war as she hurled her arm out of his grasp, and pushed him away firmly. Her blue eyes were ice cold daggers as she glared at him and settled back into her earlier readied position. "And, don't you _dare_ follow me."

Inuyasha stared at her, bewildered for a moment. Then, his eyes smothered over in guilt and understanding, showing a second of sadness as he came to accept her decision. It was then that he realised that he couldn't argue with her. He couldn't even be angry at her, or force her to stay in the Sengoku Jidai. Even though he wanted to protect her, he knew it was better for her to go back to her own time. Besides the weird technology and transportation there, it was much safer in the modern era. Youkai couldn't hurt her. No one could kidnap her. And, he wouldn't be putting her in harm's way all the time.

Most of all, _he_ wouldn't be there.

It was probably for the best….

That's when he heard something shift in the forest nearby. A rustle, a shuffling. The slightest of noises. His keen senses alert, his amber hues searched for the sound's catalyst and he took his battle stance. "Go."

By the look on her face, Kagome had heard it, too, and nodded, taking on a determined disposition. But, before she could allow herself to slip off the edge of the well, yet again, she could feel a presence charging towards her. It was slight. And, it was fast. Faster than she expected. And, it was not good.

"Look out!"

Before she could react, the hanyou was pushing her out of the way, and shielding the firey, burning coils that had been spiraling towards her with his _nezumi no kawagorom_ o. They both hit the cold ground hard, with the young miko on her back, and the hanyou's body landing protectively above her.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" He raised himself up from his position on top of her and concerned but fierce golden embers encountered surprised blue waters. She was still catching onto what had just happened. In the blur, she still managed to meet his gaze evenly, and nodded in response to his question.

They both got to their feet, and Inuyasha pulled out his sword to face their flying foe. The miko could hardly believe her eyes as she gazed at its beauty as well as its fearsome ferocity. It was long in diameter, sprawling at least 50 feet and taking up the view of the sky, with shimmering dark green and crimson scales, resembling a chinese dragon, though its head was much like that of its medieval counterpart. Fire flared from its nostrils, the orange-red color matching its slitted, oval eyes. It was truly a sight to behold, and if it hadn't just tried to burn her to a crisp, she might have felt differently about the creature.

"You have a lot of nerve coming after Kagome like that!" The son of the great dog demon demanded, pointing his transformed _tessaiga_ at the dragon.

The creature merely stuck out a slithering tongue in a hissing retort. He saw the small _inuhanyou_ as nothing more than a small obstacle and cocked his head to one side in a taunting, demeaning manner. Apparently, the little thing below him was not aware of the power of _Sekiryu_.

As Inuyasha charged towards the dragon youkai in his normal aggressive manner, Kagome studied their enemy. Something about him was strange, different from other youkai. His aura was not like theirs, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, almost like its true power had been sealed away somehow.

The dog-earred man leapt into the air, rising his transformed _tessaiga_ above his head, but when the wide fang came down to damage the dragon youkai, he was surprised to see a spherical barrier around the creature clash with the blade's force in an ominous crimson color. The pressure of the force field was enough to knock him back.

Inuyasha, although a stranger to feline prowess, landed on his bare feet back onto the grass, and he readied his sword again. However, this time, the silver-white of the crushing fang became drenched in a deep red, reminiscent of its barrier-breaking abilities. The hanyou smirked, knowing that, this time, he would be able to land a hit on the youkai in front of him. "See if you can stop me this time!"

The _tessaiga_ again met with the solidity of the dragon's barrier, both jarring in crimson energies that contradicted and pressed against one another. The hanyou pushed his sword further, trying to cut through the force-field of the lizard had so conveniently surrounded himself with, but he could feel the barrier pushing back. Pushing back against his _red tessaiga_. It was strong.

 _Too_ strong.

The clash between the _tessaiga_ and the dragon's barrier suddenly erupted, as the two energies had collided long enough. Like an atom that had been cast from nature, such a force caused the younger son of the great _inu_ _daiyoukai_ to be flung backward, and the hanyou hit hard against a large tree trunk.

Kagome shielded her face with her arm, suddenly feeling the opposing _reiryoku_ of both youkai collide, then peak in power before dispersing. "Inuyasha!" She called out in worry as her baby blues instantly went to her best friend, who had been lying upon the ground, but was slowly beginning to get up, using his now harmless, de-transformed blade for support. She could feel the spiritual energy of this beast, of the dragon they were attempting to slay. It was different from anything they had ever encountered. The energies leaking from its barrier told her that the youkai had raw, and untempered power that was unmatched. Even with its power somewhat subdued as it was now, it was still stronger than the hanyou, and probably herself, too. "Stop fighting it!" She called out in concern, "It's too powerful!"

But, Inuyasha rose to his feet, and was bent on putting the lizard out of its misery despite her pleas. He would not let anything hurt her, and he would be _damned_ if he gave up this soon. He swung _tessaiga_ to the side, transforming it into the crushing fang yet again, and hurdled towards the dragon with more determination than before, allowing the crimson wisps to swirl around the wide blade indefinitely.

Like before, the red _tessaiga_ crashed with the crimson of the youkai's defensive shield, the sharpness of the fang bleeding into it as much as possible as Inuyasha pushed for more - the energies between the barrier and the blade clashing and colliding and ricocheting off one another in an endless loop.

The time-travelling school girl knew that such a thing could not end well at this rate, and that the hanyou needed help if he truly was committed to defeating the dragon youkai. _If I could just launch a sacred arrow, maybe that would help break the barrier…!_ Her blue eyes began to look around her footing and around the grassy fields for anything that remotely resembled a bow and arrow, as she realized, too late, that she had left her trusted weaponry at Kaede's.

 _Sekiryuu's_ rusted slits narrowed upon his silver-haired foe. He had begun to tire of the fool's repetitive behaviour, already finding the pathetic hanyou and the battle boring. He had expected more from a son of _Inu No Taiso_ , and such blinded aggression and lack of reason would soon be the end of him. From the corner of his eye, he could see the miko frantically searching around her for something. Her fear rose with each passing second, heightening his senses and need for her blood. With her attention diverted and her heroic hanyou unable to split even the thinnest of barriers, the time was now to strike.

Suddenly, the eyes of the dragon radiated a red glow, and green scales upon his body began to shed apart from his skin, floating seamlessly in an outline of crimson that was both eerie and imperial.

The hanyou sensed the attack and its intended target before it hit, his golden irises seeing the scales turn pointedly towards the girl who was still standing near the well, the girl he thought he had been protecting. "Dammit!" He swore, falling back to stand before the forest behind him, and eyeing his companion with an aggravated grimace. "Kagome! Get out of there!" He shouted.

She turned toward the dragon to see a plethora of green scales flying towards her like knives, and she closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. She had no way to fight the monster or deflect the attack, and not enough time to run.

An aura pulsed around her, activated by her desperation and panic - a soft glow of pink rose and cerulean blanketing her body in a warm embrace as she awaited death.

\- x -

 _He halted suddenly in the plans they had been walking in, and he turned to look behind him, in the direction of the strange sensation that had overcome him… the smell of helplessness in the air._

But, there was something different, something _else_ , besides the scent of lavender and hazlenut that tickled his nose. Somehow, his brother's companion was projecting a different aura, as a sensation of nigh and mighty power pulsed from her. _That girl…_ he mused curiously, his gaze focused on the trees and land beyond them. _How did she attain such a high level of powerful prominence so quickly?_

And, if her sudden burst in spiritual power was not enough to both puzzle and irk the Lord of the Western Lands, the sudden _beckoning_ of his assistance to her person was, to say the least, irritating. Such a summons derived from the miko, as he could smell the peak of her fear clearly, and could sense her aura calling out to him, scratching in the small recesses of his soul.

His interest piqued, he took to the air suddenly, his mind too engulfed in the recent developments to acknowledge even Rin, who was calling him as he put further and further distance between the imp and the child.

Jaken's gaze hardened as he watched his master sail away, gliding above the forest and into the darkness of the night, his _mokomoko_ trailing behind. Even he could understand the reason for his Lord's sudden strange behaviour, as he could feel the ebb of spiritual power that Inuyasha's human companion emitted.

"LORD. SESS-SHO-MAR-RUUUU!" Rin shouted in her loudest voice for the fourth time, using both hands around her mouth to project her cries.

Jaken sighed. "It's no use, Rin," he told the girl in his wisdom, sitting to rest in a cross-legged position and leaning against Ah-Un, "Once Lord Sesshomaru's curiosity is piqued, it's hard to get his attention."

Rin stopped shouting her Lord's name then, realizing that her charge had flown a great distance now, out of her line of sight. She walked over to sit beside her imp friend, hugging her knees to her chest as she came to terms with Jaken's words. A sad expression painted her usual cheerful or interested features, and she asked the question that suddenly plagued her mind. "But, what could have Lord Sesshomaru so curious?"

\- x -

 _The chinese bellflower glanced up from her reflection in the river, souls hovering around her freely, and her soul collectors flying aimlessly to drop the pure white orbs of surrounding spirits into her clay body as she lounged on the bank._

Her gaze became more intense, scrutinizing the new _reiryoku_ and its sudden spike in power as her ebony eyes settled on the oval moon that hung above. She could feel the ebb and flow of her reincarnation's aura - somewhat her own, with great spirituality, but also not her own, with hinted demonic aura searing the outskirts.

And, not just any demonic aura intermingled with Kagome's. It was one she recognised; a powerful daiyoukai.

Kagome's aura and spiritual powers had somehow laced together with that of Inuyasha's half-brother, Sesshomaru's.

* * *

 _shibito_ \- dead person or corpse

 _nezumi no kawagorom_ o - robe of the fire-rat

 _reiryoku_ \- spiritual power

 _mokomoko -_ the "fluffy boa" of Sesshoumaru's person. May be part of his attire, may be part of his body - I'll have to find out!

Author's Note: I'm sorry I didn't update sooner! I tried to make up for it by making the chapter longer than intended. I go to school and work full-time, and along with other hobbies and a boyfriend, sometimes my fanfictions get lost in the clutter. I've been reading more SessKag lately, though, so I hope to get this story going and hope to update more often... at least before school starts again. Let me know of any discrepancies, comments, love, or critiques you may have! Reviews are always welcome.


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